The present disclosure relates in general to datacenter switch systems with modular on board optical interconnects. In particular, field replaceable modular optical interconnect units including an integrated optical module are described that are configured for use in datacenter main switch systems.
As datacenters for the transmission of optical signals over fiber optic networks become more advanced and demand for the support of higher-speed protocols increases, the transceivers for converting between electrical and optical signals are being moved closer to the main switch ASIC (the application-specific integrated circuit) to accommodate this need. In some cases, the optoelectronic transceiver is replaced by a Mid Board Optical Module (MBOM) or similar electrical to optical conversion solution, which is integrated into the board of the main switch and, thus, reduces the distance to the main switch ASIC, thereby enabling an easier implementation of electrical high speed routing.